The Fight Within
by Jintaro Kitokuro
Summary: This is the story of my OC Drayden Kusenumi. He is an aspiring swordsman who has lost his memory and struggles to recover it. As he begins to regain his memory, he uncovers that his past was more twisted than he thought. With the help of Fairy Tail, will he be able to face his deepest fear? I do not own Fairy Tail or any of its characters (except for Drayden).
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1: Visions of the Past

July 7, X777

"Where am I?" I wondered as I looked around.

In front of me there was nothing but open land as far as the eye could see. There were some trees scattered around but for the most part, there was a lot of sand, which occasionally swirled up in the air and blinded me temporarily. In my hand was a sword. It had a black hilt with a strange chain wrapped around the blade. I tried to pull the chain, but it wouldn't even budge. It was like it was glued onto the blade or something. I noticed something odd about the hilt of the sword; there was blood on it. I looked on my hand and saw that there was blood on there too. At this point, I went into a state of shock. My body was trembling, shaking violently. I nearly vomited at the thought of a dead body popping up in my mind.

"Why in the world was there blood on me?" I pondered, with tears beginning to run down my face.

I then turned around and wasn't sure of what I was looking at. Below the cliff on which I was on, I saw some buildings below. They appeared to be made up of rock and stone, and square in shape. I could somewhat see into one of the buildings. A candle was lit on what looked like a table. I could faintly see some plates of food, as if someone was getting ready to eat dinner. Over at the next building, I could see that it was reduced to rubble. Nothing remained except for some pieces of stone and some furniture, such as a chair and broken pieces of a bed. Throughout the settlement, there was smoke that clouded most of the buildings; but I could tell that there was immense damage in the area. I couldn't figure out why I was there though. I couldn't remember anything.

Two years later: (June 25, X779)

"Hey Drayden?" I heard a voice say. I was too deep in thought to respond.

"Hey Drayden!" the voice called out to me again. This time I was taken out of my imagination and returned to the real world.

The voice had been that of Gray Fullbuster. As usual, the dark blue-haired ice mage was missing some articles of clothing. He was shirtless but had on his black pants and shoes, which told me he was in the process of doing his unusual habit of subconsciously taking his clothes off. It truly baffled and disgusted me at the same time, but I never made a plan to tell Gray my feelings about it. It probably wouldn't matter anyways. He would still continue to do it regardless of what I said.

From the look on his face, he appeared to have been somewhat exhausted. He was also out of breath, panting loudly. I was soon reminded that before I left the guild hall, Gray was having his usual arguments with another young, pink-haired mage. And after their arguments the two would typically fight, which would last for hours sometimes. This was made evident when I examined him more closely, seeing that he had some fresh bruises on him. I proceeded to get up off the soft grass that I was lying on and stretched my arms and legs.

"Are you alright Drayden?" Gray asked as I was stretching.

To be honest, I didn't have an answer to his question. Those thoughts I had, of the ruined buildings and smoke, deeply disturbed me. And the worse part of it all was that I had no recollection of how it happened. The only thing I could remember that day was my name. It was frustrating not knowing anything. I felt as though I was in a dark cave with no exit in sight. However, I didn't want to trouble the ice mage or anyone else at the guild, so I lied and told him that I was okay. He must have accepted my response, although reluctantly as his expression showed some doubt, and we proceeded to head back to the guild.

Before we headed back, I couldn't help but ask Gray where his shirt was. And as usual, the "stripper" was shocked when he found out that he was without a shirt, so I tried to give my purple jacket to him. However, he rejected the offer, stating that he didn't need it. I chose not to argue with him, not that I was in any position to do so anyways.

As we were walking back to the guild, I looked up at the sky and saw the beautiful sun beaming down on us. It was midday in the summertime, so I expected the heat, but there was a cool breeze that made me forget all about it. The sky itself was in its perfect color of blue, with an occasional cloud aimlessly floating by. In the distance, I could hear the townspeople going about their day. I saw a couple with their kid shopping around. The kid seemed to be upset over something, but I didn't think about what that something was. For some reason, that kid gave me a weird feeling. It was like I could relate to that kid, even though I had no recollection of ever being in that situation. It was truly confusing, but I managed to let it go when Gray decided to start a conversation.

"So why'd you run off like that?" Gray asked.

It then hit me that I had run off earlier. Prior to me running off, I had a brief flashback, and in it I saw a figure standing in front of me.

"Run! Get out of here!" the figure shouted to me.

Then, as quick as it appeared, it vanished. I don't know why, but the sheer thought of the voice was enough to make start sobbing. As my eyes filled with water, I began to choke. I was sure that I would've started crying vehemently if I didn't get out. I don't know why that voice did that to me, but after some more minutes of crying, I decided to rest myself in the nearby grass. As much as I considered Gray a friend, I couldn't tell him what was going on.

"No reason in particular. I just needed some fresh air was all" I lied.

"Fresh air huh?" Gray replied. His tone was clearly skeptical, but he kept going anyway. "The Master was looking for you. He said that he wanted to talk to you about something."

"The Master huh?" I thought to myself.

Then, before I knew it, we were in front of the Fairy Tail Guild.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: In the Dark

Even though we were outside, I could hear the loud, rambunctious Fairy Tail mages shouting and yelling at one another. As Gray and I entered, the pink-haired boy immediately came up to Gray and challenged him to a rematch. Instantly, the two got into their usual habit of arguing and insulting each other. "Flame idiot" and "Ice queen" were the first two insults I heard, which made me chuckle quietly. I always found it interesting how ironic it was that their magic abilities contrasted one another. However, before a punch was thrown, the two were stopped by a young female mage. She had scarlet red hair and a face as scary as a demon (at least to me). Despite this, she was still beautiful. I admired her strength and ability to calm the two down. However, this admiration was also my deterrent from talking to her, until now.

She slammed both boys' heads together, which made me flinch. Even though I didn't get hit, I could tell that it must've hurt. The two boys stayed on the ground, rubbing their heads.

"E…Erza-chan?" I asked, not sure whether or not she would attack me.

"What is it Drayden?" she said, with her stern voice.

I was going to ask her if her way of intervening was necessary, but out of fear of facing her wicked wrath, I decided to let it be. The sheer thought of Erza was more than enough to send shivers down my spine. I didn't need her punching me too.

"Have you seen the master?"

Erza pointed at the bar and there was the master. He was sitting on the bar counter with a brown mug in his hand. Despite being the master of Fairy Tail, it took me a long time to think of him as such. He had this laid back personality that rivaled my perceptions of what a guild master would be. He wore a goofy orange and blue jester hat that went with his orange shirt and shorts. I found it odd that a master of a guild would dress so…what's the word…weird. Adding on to the eccentricity, the master would sometimes do these crazy poses and flips. Sometimes, he would even make me partake in doing some of those poses, much to my displeasure. It puzzled me why he would act this way, but I eventually brushed it off as one of the many personalities one would find in a guild, especially since this was Fairy Tail. Besides, he took me in after that incident and treated me like family. I couldn't…no, I wouldn't be able to thank him enough. And I was more than willing to accept this guild's craziness, so long as I had a place to stay.

Before I could walk up to him, however, I was stopped by the "Demon" Mirajane Strauss, who surprised me by jumping in front of my path. As usual, she had this wicked smile on her face which meant that she was thinking of a foul plan to mess with me. Typically, she would simply hurl insults at me and then walk away. For obvious reasons, I was terrified of her (more so than Erza) and often kept my distance. Despite my attempts though, she would always find a way to pick on her "prey."

"What's up…?" Before she finished her sentence, Erza interrupted her.

"Leave Drayden alone," Erza demanded, with her stern voice amplified.

"Oh, and what're ya gonna do about it, red-head?"

The only thing scarier than Erza and Mirajane by themselves was when the two were together, arguing. I slowly backed away from the two, fearing that I would get caught up in their feud. I ended up cowering behind Gray, who was still in the same spot, with the pink-haired boy next to him. Both of them were as terrified as I was, each of us shaking uncontrollably.

Eventually, the two gave up their quarrel and parted ways, much to everyone's relief. I remained petrified, clinging to Gray's back, unaware that it was over. Gray managed to pull me off of him and slapped me a couple of times, waking me out of my semi-unconsciousness. After that, I remembered why I was here in the first place.

I walked up to the short, elderly man, who was still on top of the bar sipping his alcohol as if nothing happened. He turned around instantly.

"Drayden my boy, how are ya?" the master asked. It was evident that he had a little too much to drink. His speech was slurred and his usual act of goofiness was higher than usual.

"I'm fine Makarov-sama," I replied. Realistically, I was scared. I just witnessed the scariest thing to happen to me. But he didn't have to know that. Besides, he looked happy in his blissful state.

"Good." The master gestured me to come closer. "Listen, let's go outside to talk."

With another sip of his drink, he set the mug down on the counter and we proceeded to go outside. The winds had picked up and the clouds had gathered since I was last outside, with the sky becoming their grey, dull color. This deeply pissed me off, as I hated the color grey. I found it to be depressing and pointless; and it didn't help that my hair and eyes were the same color. I hated it so much that I wouldn't even look in a mirror when I first arrived with the master to Magnolia. I didn't know why I hated the color, but I assumed that I must've hated it before I lost my memories.

"It looks like a storm's coming," the master said.

Indeed the sky was giving hints of its eventual storm, with the clouds becoming increasingly dark.

"What is it that you wanted to talk to me about?" I asked, inwardly wanting to get back into the guild building before we got caught in the storm's clutches.

"Have you recovered any of your memories yet?" he asked.

"No, not yet." I couldn't bring myself to tell him about the screaming woman I had seen earlier in the day. It didn't make sense to me, and I didn't see it as helpful anyways since I couldn't see her face.

The master appeared to look disappointed in my response, but with a smile, simply patted me on the shoulder and told me not to worry. Afterwards, he went back inside. So far the master was the only one who knew of my memory loss. Everyone else just saw me as Drayden, the quiet and sad looking gray-haired kid. And I liked it that way. No one ever really talked to me except Gray and a brown-haired goddess named Cana. But I wasn't too keen on letting them know about my situation. I didn't want to trouble them, after all.

I decided to go back to my grassy spot where I was lying on earlier. Despite the state of the weather, my initial desire to go back into the guild was long gone. I had wanted to be alone. I hoped that by being alone I would eventually regain my memories. I needed my memories back. I needed to know who I really was, so that I wouldn't be such a burden to everyone. This was the only way to repay Master Makarov back for taking me in.

I sat on the soft grass for about an hour. During this time I had no success in regaining my memories. Nothing would pop out but those images of the blood and the buildings and the smoke. I would meditate calmly for five minutes and then strain myself mentally, desperately wanting something to appear in my mind. I wanted anything, anything at all that would tell me something else about myself. But after failing to generate anything, I cried. I hated and cursed myself. I thought of myself as nothing but weak. How could I face the master without my memories? I know that he wanted me to remember so that he could help me. I felt that I was failing him for not being able to do so.

As I continued to cry my heart out, I heard footsteps coming from behind me. I quickly wiped my face off and turned around to see that it was Gray. This time, he wasn't wearing anything but his black boxers. I crawled away, not wanting to be anywhere close to him, with a shocked expression on my face. Not realizing that he was nearly naked, he questioned my actions. I pointed at his boxers, which made him look down and realize the dilemma. And yet again, he was in a state of shock. But he got over it quick and grabbed my hand.

"Wh…what are you doing Gray?" I asked, clearly still in a state of shock.

"We need to get inside before this storm comes," he said.

I then realized that the clouds had gotten even darker since I saw them earlier. It looked as though it was nighttime. I guess I was so focused on trying to remember my past that I forgot about the impending storm.

Gray and I returned to the Fairy Tail building. Nothing changed since my hour long absence. Everyone seemed to be having a good time talking to one another. Macao and Wakaba were drinking and gossiping about the cute girls in the guild. A table away from them, I saw Levy being hit on by Jet and Droy, both failing to woo her. Mirajane was sitting at a table far away from the entrance (thank goodness) with her two younger siblings, Elfman and Lisanna, who were talking with Cana.

After Gray put his clothes back on, the sound of thunder was heard. It roared loudly, so much so that I felt vibrations. Then, the rain started pouring down. Even though I was inside, I could tell that the storm was bad and that there were no signs of it letting up any time soon.

Since I knew that it would be a while before the storm ended, I sat down near a table and concentrated. I was adamant that despite the noise around me, I would continue what I was doing earlier. I would remember what happened, for my sake and for the sake of Fairy Tail. But nothing came up. I was at a loss. Clenching my fists and grinding my teeth, I cursed myself again for being so useless. I just wanted something that would tell me about my past. Was that so hard to ask?

I guess I wasn't the only one who knew that I was frustrated because I was greeted by Cana. I immediately blushed, which caused me to put my head down and forget all about my problem. I couldn't let her know my frustration and coupled with the blushing, I sure as hell couldn't let her know that I had a crush on her. To be honest, who wouldn't have a crush on her? Her voice was cute, her face was perfect and she had this air of charm around her. I started picturing us together, when we were older and married with two kids. But I was soon taken out of my imagination by Cana (which I didn't mind at all).

"Is everything okay?" Cana asked with her usual sweet tone.

"Y…yeah. Just tired is all," I said. I inwardly cursed myself for coming up with such a stupid excuse.

"Okay," Cana said, with a slight hint of skepticism. She started to walk away, but before she could get far I stopped her.

"Say Cana, could you…maybe…do that fortune telling thing on me?"

"Um, sure."

Cana and I sat at the table I was sitting at earlier and she pulled out her cards. Under normal circumstances, I wouldn't be bothered with a useless fortune telling. I found it to be a complete hoax. But since I never tried it and was desperate for answers, I sucked it up and decided to do it. Besides, I got to sit next to my future wi - I mean good friend - in the process.

As she did her fortune telling with her cards, I felt anxiety mixed with stupidity. In my mind, I thought that if this "prediction" was accurate, then I would have something to go off of. But at the same time, I thought that I would be stupid for following what a random card told me. For a minute, my rationality and irrationality battled it out in my head, so much so that my head began to hurt. But soon after, she was finished. However, she seemed to have a mortified look on her face, as if she had seen a ghost or something.

"I…I'm sure it's not that bad," I said, trying to comfort her. Unfortunately, I was unsuccessful. I couldn't think of what could possibly be troubling her. I was upset that I was causing her any trouble at all. I began berating myself. I was an idiot for causing her to worry. After a minute or so of silence, she finally began to speak.

"Drayden, you may not want to hear this."

"Come on, how bad could it be?" I asked, beginning to feel a lump in my throat.

"The card said that you will have…"

"Have a family?" I wondered, eyes sparkling at the thought of little versions of me running around playing (with Cana's hair of course).

"…an untimely death," she said remorsefully.

I went into complete and utter shock. Did Cana just say that I would "have an untimely death?" She couldn't be serious right now. Right? I had so much to live for. Questions began flooding my head. What if I don't regain my memory before then? How am I going to die? What about my friends here in Fairy Tail? What if I don't repay the master? Then, I smiled and laughed. Cana looked at me like I was crazy. I knew I wasn't though. There was no way she was right. The stupid cards were just teasing us. I didn't believe in them anyways, so why would I start now?

"Don't worry about it okay," I said, patting Cana on the shoulder. "However, can you keep this between us? Please?" I could tell she didn't understand why I would want to keep it a secret, but she agreed.

That night, after the storm died down, I wished the master goodnight and went home. For a good two hours, I couldn't sleep. I just kept staring straight up at the ceiling. My thoughts were focused on what that stupid fortune said. I convinced myself that whatever the card said wouldn't come true, but I couldn't help but to think about what if I did end up dying. Why couldn't it have said "Your life will be filled with unicorns, pixie dust and little leprechauns at the end of rainbows" or something like that? At least I could have laughed myself to sleep with such absurdity. Death was another thing completely. No one could laugh at the thought of themselves dying. Thoughts of the blood on my hand and the dead body came into my mind after that. My hands were trembling. My breathing became somewhat labored. I could feel my chest getting heavier with every breath. My eyes began filling up with water. Somehow, I ended up on the floor of my room, panting violently.

I swore that I had saw Death himself, standing above me, waiting for his chance to take me off of this earth.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3: Hints

The next day, I decided to sleep in. Normally, I would get up early and do some workouts such as jogging and push-ups. But today I felt like staying in. Yesterday was not a day to remember and I didn't feel like adding on to my already stressful life. However, someone had different plans for me.

As I was in and out of sleep, I could hear the people outside going about their daily routines. One voice in particular I heard was that of the kid I had seen yesterday. Even though I didn't see him, I could tell from his incessant complaining. Once again, a feeling of déjà vu came over me. I wondered if I was once like that kid, all annoying and what not. I hoped not.

I decided to go back to sleep afterwards, but before I got into a deep sleep, a rock flew through my window and sent glass flying across my room. A couple of pieces managed to hit the foot of my bed and rested on top of the blue comforter that I was under. I jumped up out of my bed and headed carefully to the broken window, avoiding the shards of glass on the floor. Outside, I saw that the culprit was none other than the pink-haired boy, Natsu Dragneel. With him was the blue exceed Happy, who was hovering over next to Natsu. Obviously, I had a mind to go downstairs and beat the pulp out of him. However, I reconsidered after Gray, who was with Natsu, did it for me. The two started their usual fight scenario, but before they could do any damage to each other (and the property), I stopped them and invited them inside. It was better than leaving the two to their own devices. As we were walking back inside, I happened to spot the landlord, who looked furious. When he spotted us, he stomped towards us with his fists clenched. His light brown hair on his head pointed upwards. Veins were popping out of his head and his hazel eyes were as fierce as a raging bull. Before I could say anything, he immediately scolded us and stated that I would have to pay for the damages. I bowed vigorously, apologized and dragged the boys to my apartment before the landlord did anything rash.

"What the hell was that for Natsu? You could've just knocked on my door like a normal person," I said furiously.

"I didn't feel like comin' up so…" Natsu said, with his expression showing a little sympathy.

"So you broke my window?"

"Why don't you use your head for once flame brain?" Gray said.

"What was that ice queen?" Natsu retorted.

Not wanting things to escalate again, I offered them something to eat, which immediately quieted Natsu down. Both of them agreed and after asking Happy (the only civilized one in the group (myself not included)) what he wanted, I rushed into the kitchen and grabbed some leftovers I had made for the guild yesterday. In one container, it had baked chicken legs and breasts. In another held some rice seasoned with green and yellow peppers. Finally, I had some leftover steak that was marinated in my homemade barbeque sauce. To be honest, I didn't remember where and how I learned to cook, but I was glad to have that skill under my belt.

As soon as I heated up the food and bought it out, Natsu and Happy's mouths began drooling. Once I fixed their plates, the two said "Itadakimasu" and began chowing down on the food, first attacking the chicken. I made sure to give Natsu the largest piece of chicken, since he would end up eating the most out of us. Meanwhile, Gray ate at a slower pace, deciding to savor the flavors in the food.

"As usual," Gray said in between his chewing, "your food is the best."

"Aye sir!" Happy added on.

"Thanks."

"Yea," Natsu said, with his mouth full of food, "it's soooo good."

While they ate, I proceeded to sweep up the glass in my room and took a quick shower. As I was putting my clothes on, I couldn't help but notice the sword that was resting on the wall near my closet. Like two years ago, it still had the chain wrapped around the blade. However, when I went to pick it up, it was noticeably heavier, so much so that I couldn't even pick it up with two hands. This was the case ever since I arrived in Magnolia. I didn't comprehend how in the world a sword could increase in weight, but I took it as a precaution for me not to use it, at least not until I regained my memories.

When I returned, Natsu was sprawled out on my couch sleeping, with Happy resting on the couch with him. Gray was still sitting in the chair, except now he was missing all of his clothes but his underwear. This resulted in a good kick to his chest. As much as I could tolerate Gray's stripping habit, I would not allow it in my apartment. The ice mage took the hint and saw that he was without his clothes. With the sting of my kick still felt, he went to put his clothes back on.

"Honestly," I said, rubbing the bridge of my nose with my thumb and index fingers. "So why did you guys come here? Is the master looking for me again?"

"Not this time. We were just worried about you since you weren't at the guild today."

I guess my plan to spend the day at home was more trouble than I thought. I ended up doing exactly what I didn't want to do: have the guild worrying about me.

"Well, I'm fine, as you can see. I was just tired and felt like…" I was cut off by Gray.

"Stop lying to me. Something's obviously up with you, so spill it," Gray said, his tone clearly showing concern and anger.

To think that by hiding the truth from Gray, I was actually making him worry more. I was mad at myself for not letting him know sooner. I mean, we were best friends since I first came to this guild. He showed me around, and introduced me to everyone. He was like the brother I never had (or thought I didn't have, to be more accurate). And here I was taking this friendship for granted. As I was about to tell him what was going on, I suddenly had another flashback. My head began to hurt. I placed my hand on my forehead in order to keep it up. In the flashback, I saw my first face. It was that of an old man with grey thin hair and a grey beard. He was smiling at me. It looked as if he was trying to say something to me, but I couldn't catch it. He then placed his hands on my head and everything after that went dark. When I recovered, I had found myself on the floor of the living room, with Gray standing above me, calling out to Natsu, who had woke up and gotten off the couch to get some help. Before he left though, I stopped him, telling him that I was fine. Gray visibly didn't agree with me and told Natsu to help him pick me up. I began slipping in and out of consciousness, with Gray yelling at me to hold on. The two boys, with Happy following close by, rushed me to the guild hall. As they were doing so, with the citizens of Magnolia looking at us in shock, I felt extremely drowsy and closed my eyes shortly after. The last thing I remember seeing was the sun, partially blocked out by a cloud.

"That cloud's really dark," I thought to myself as I slipped into unconsciousness.

When I had awakened, I found myself on a bed with white sheets covering everything except my head. The room that I was in was pretty bland. It was primarily four white walls with five beds in a row, all having white sheets on top of them. In front of my bed, there was a window that was left slightly open, letting a breeze into the room. The white linen curtains waved gently as the wind came in, making an elegant show.

My head was still in pain as I was forced to close my eyes a few times in order to block out the light. When I had regained my eyesight, I saw a tall woman standing to the right of me, with the first thing that I recognized being her pink hair. She stood at a table, appearing to be mixing some herbs in a mortar, smashing down on them with a pestle. When I tried to get up, I found the task extremely difficult to do. My whole body felt like bricks. I couldn't even lift my head an inch off of my pillow. The woman must've noticed my movements and glared at me with menacing eyes.

"You won't be getting up anytime soon," she said, in an irritated tone. Continuing on, "Makarov, you know I hate humans yet you asked me to come here to treat one."

"Makarov? Master Makarov?" I questioned. I looked to my left, still unable to move and saw the master sitting on a chair next to my bed. His legs were not even close to touching the floor and his eyes were at the same level as my head. It looked like he could barely see over my chest.

"I know, but I figured that you would want to help out one of my kids, seeing as you did it before, Porlyusica."

"Before?" I wondered. It soon clicked that this must have been the same lady that fixed Erza's eye. It didn't take long for me to put my trust in her.

"Thank you," I muttered loud enough so she could hear. I could barely talk due to my body suddenly feeling weaker.

"Shut up. How am I supposed to concentrate on this medicine if you keep talking? Stupid humans!" (On second thought, I retract my former statement and will be taking back my "thank you").

At any rate, she finished making her medicine, putting a dark green liquid mixture into a bottle for me to drink. As I drunk it down, its bitter taste making my mouth pucker up, I started falling into unconsciousness again. The world around me got dark again, and I was placed into my imagination.

As I was sleeping, I began having one of the most vivid dreams I've ever had. It was much more vivid than my last vision. In it, I had just opened my eyes and saw that I was in a dimly lit room, with its only source of light being a candle that was a few feet away from me. I was lying on a bed. It was a simple silver-colored metal bed, only being big enough for one person. The pillow and covers were all black and the pillow had a white stripe that ran across the width of it. As I got up, I faintly heard some arguing behind a closed door. Getting closer to the door, I heard an emphatic "NO!" on the other side. The voice was that of a female. As I cycled through my thoughts, I recalled that it was the same voice I heard before that told me to run. I opened the door slowly and saw that there was a man and a woman arguing. The man was about six feet. His hair was black and slicked back. He had an unkempt beard and tattered clothes, which consisted of a tattered black cloak which went down to his calves. Underneath it, I could see brown pants that had rips and tears in them and brown boots in which the pants were tucked in. His face was showing immense anger and frustration at the woman. Meanwhile, she was kneeling on the floor. She had on what looked like a maid's outfit from a distance, consisting of a white bandana on her head, a white apron and an olive green dress underneath it. She was also barefoot. Like the room I was in, the other one was dimly lit, but had a few candles scattered about, with varying degrees of intensity.

"He's an abomination, a plague I tell you. He shouldn't be left to live. Let me just kill him, please," the man said. It appeared that he was trying to persuade the woman into letting him kill someone, but in my oblivious state, I didn't know who he was referring to.

"NO, a thousand times NO," the woman said, tears rushing down her face. "He's not an abomination; he's just a human being like th-." She was cut off by the man, who swiped his hand at the woman, missing her and hitting a glass on a nearby table, knocking it to the ground. The woman shrieked while I flinched, hiding most of myself behind the door.

"Bullshit!" the man shouted back. He then grabbed her by the throat with one hand, tightening his grip with every word. "That kid is just as I said, an abomination. And the fact that you would defend such atrocity must make you the same way." He threw her onto the ground. As she was trying to catch her breath, I couldn't resist the temptation and walked out of the room into the scene. As I stood in front of the two, the man started shouting at me.

"You! You monstrosity! You don't deserve to live on this earth no longer." He pulled out a small dagger out of his sleeve and charged towards me. Again, I heard the woman yelling.

"Run! Get out of here!"

Before the dagger made contact with me, I woke up in a feverish sweat. I was sitting upright; my body no longer feeling heavy. I was panting loudly and vigorously, trying to catch my breath. As I looked around, I could see that I was back in the real world, seeing the other beds to my right and left. The room was mostly dark, but the moon's light was shining through the window that was still open.

I gripped the cover tightly, still shaking like a leaf. "What the hell just happened?"

I couldn't go back to sleep. My mind continued to race back and forth over the details of the dream. It was too vivid for me to automatically consider it a flashback into my past. This was especially true considering I couldn't feel nor vividly see anything in my "flash attacks" (as I called them).

"Why was that man trying to kill me?" I looked at my right hand that I had raised into the air, palm facing me. "Am I really an abomination?" It was that question that kept me up for the rest of the night.

The next morning, I had bags under my eyes and a grouchy attitude. As I got out of bed, I looked out the window to see the beautiful sun in the distance, gracing me with its beauty and warmth. I basked in it for a few minutes before making the bed and stepping out of the room. I briefly took survey of my surroundings, commenting that I was in the Fairy Tail guild. As I walked to the bar which was to my right, I saw the master there, sitting on top of it.

"Good morning Makarov-sama," I said, giving him a fake smile.

"Hey Drayden, how ya holdin' up?" he asked.

Clearly I wasn't fine, but I tried my best to shake off my discomfort. "I'm fine sir. I'm just gonna head home real quick to shower and I'll be back soon, okay?"

"Okay, don't be gone too long."

"I won't," I said, giving the master a gleeful smile and a thumbs up.

While it usually feels like an eternity walking from the guild hall to my apartment (as it's halfway into Magnolia), I ended up blanking out the whole way there, which made it feel like only a minute had passed. Checking my pockets, I realized that due to yesterday's incident, I left home without my keys. Understanding that I was locked out of my own apartment, I lamented over my misfortune.

"Really? I just had to have that stupid flash attack didn't I?" I thought to myself.

As I was sitting on the ground next to my apartment door, the landlord came out of his apartment and walked over to me. Instantly, I got up and started speaking.

"I'm terribly sorry for what happened yesterday. It won't happen again I assure-"

"It's fine," the landlord said, earning himself my signature confused face. "Your friends from Fairy Tail came back and apologized. That pink-haired boy even offered to put in your window for me. I must say, you got some loyal friends."

"That I do," I said, laughing quietly.

"Oh, and here's your spare key. I made sure to hold on to it like you said." The landlord handed me a bronze key.

"Thank you thank you thank you," I said rapidly, giving the middle aged man a hug. He then walked off to go about his routine. As I turned the key in the lock and opened the door, my mind quickly went back to that room where I saw the man and woman. The fear in the woman's eyes and the cold, piercing ones in the man's made me drop my key and stare straight into my living room, trembling. As the thought disappeared, I once again saw my living room.

"I need a seat," I muttered to myself, walking over to the beige couch that Natsu was sitting on yesterday. I began to recollect my thoughts, trying to piece together the parts of the puzzle. So far, I had the buildings and smoke, the dead body, the blood, the screaming woman, the man who attacked me, the old man and the sword.

"Just what exactly did this mean?" I thought to myself, sitting on the couch using my hands as support for my head. I screamed at the top of my lungs, no longer content with my frustration. As I breathed loudly, I decided to temporarily forget about the issue and take my shower.

"No point in worrying about this now," I said. "I need to hurry up and get back to the guild before I make anyone else worry."

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**Author's note: **Finally figured out how to do this lol. I hoped you guys enjoyed this latest chapter as well as the last two. Thank you guys for reading and review :)


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4: Connection

After taking a quick shower and brushing my teeth, I put on a fresh pair of clothes, which consisted of a red t-shirt, black pants and black boots with a white trim at the bottom. Before leaving, I briefly looked out of the window and saw that Gray was waiting outside. I grabbed my purple jacket and went downstairs.

"What are you doing here Gray?" I asked.

"Master told me to make sure that you return to the guild," Gray replied. His expression, however, showed some ulterior motive. But I didn't care, as I had someone watching me in case I had another violent flash attack.

As we were walking, Gray questioned me about the events that happened yesterday. I decided to tell him the whole thing. As I told him about the visions and my memory loss, he looked at me in astonishment. After I finished telling him everything, I felt a wave of relief wash over me, and I could tell that the same happened to Gray. We both smiled at one another and by the time I thanked Gray for his actions, we had arrived at the guild.

Inside, the usual was going on. People were chatting loudly and having a good time. Out of the blue, Natsu flew towards us, shouting as he was running.

"Gray, Drayden, I challenge you two to a battle!" Instantly, my eyes opened wide and I was stunned. Why in the world would Natsu challenge me to a battle? Gray was one thing, but me. I didn't even know if I had any magic capabilities to speak of.

"You're on!" Gray said, clearly pumped about the offer. "Drayden, your fighting too aren't you?"

"No no," I replied. Why the hell would I want to get into a fight with them? The two did enough damage on their own. And furthermore, I couldn't fight. They would (literally) wipe the floor with me in a second. "I'll pass."

"But Gramps said you would be up to it," Natsu said, sounding disappointed. THE MASTER was okay with this? Just yesterday, I was unconscious and weak and now the crazy old man wants me to fight.

"It'll be good training for ya," said by a familiar voice. The voice had been that of the master, who was walking down from the second floor.

"Good training?" I questioned. More like a good butt whooping. But as I was thinking, it clicked in my mind that the master may have had a reason for putting me in this fight. Despite not seeing his logic, I agreed reluctantly. Natsu's face lit up while Gray was stripping. This was the one time I didn't care, because my mind was too focused on how many weeks I would be recuperating at home.

Natsu, Gray and I stepped outside and found an area nearby that would be sufficient for our fight (and prevent any costly damages). We stood in a triangular shape. The master was nearby, watching us with his hands behind his back.

"Ready," the master said. All three of us prepared to strike. "Go!"

Natsu started the battle, heading towards Gray with his fists clenched. As Natsu's punch was heading towards Gray, he countered and head-butted Natsu. Deciding to get this over with, I charged at Gray and swung at him. He dodged and tried to punch me but I managed to counter and sent him back a few feet. This constant punching routine continued for a few minutes, with Natsu and Gray landing a couple blows on each other. Surprisingly, I was actually managing to defend myself against the two mages, blocking here and there and striking back. I did get knocked down a couple of times, but I kept going. This was the first time I ever sparred with someone before, and I know for a fact that I was doing pretty well. This was also the first time that a fight actually made me excited. My heart was racing and the blood was pumping. It was exhilarating. But in my adrenaline-pumped state, Natsu managed to strike me, his fist connecting with my jaw, sending me to the ground with a thud. I found myself unable to continue the battle and the master stopped the match. Gray and Natsu were pretty banged up, and I was extremely exhausted. As the adrenaline rush wore off, I found that every muscle in my body ached and my face was burning from Natsu's punch.

"That was fun!" Natsu shouted, laughing with a grin on his face. I couldn't help but agree with him. For the last two years, I was so concerned about regaining my memories that I forgot how to have fun. And for the first time, I did just that. As I sat on the ground, a smile began to stretch from cheek to cheek, and I began laughing. Pretty soon, I was joined by Natsu, Gray and the master. It was the happiest I've felt in a long time.

After the fight, I went back home to rest. Before I left the guild, I told the master everything that I knew. He said that he would look into it and reassured me that I was not an abomination. However, I couldn't help myself from shedding a tear at the word. It stuck onto me like glue. At home, I placed an ice pack on my face and went into my room to take a nap. When I woke up, it was about 7:00 pm, and the sunset's orange light beamed through the window. The ice pack was now just a pack of warm water, with some of the water on my face and on the floor. As I went to the kitchen to put the pack back in the freezer, I was greeted by my landlord, who for some reason was sitting on my couch. While I am grateful for him allowing me to stay here for free, under no circumstances would I allow a grown man to be in my apartment uninvited. He quickly received a swift kick to the face and fell to the floor.

"What are you doing here?" I asked, putting my hands up in defense.

"You're just like your mother," the landlord replied. As he was getting up off of the floor, I looked at him in shock.

"You knew my mother?"

"Not directly, but I have seen what she looked and acted like."

My landlord, who I thought was just a random person, knew something about my mother. The fact that this man knew anything about my life was a problem in and of itself. I guess he saw the confusion in my face and spoke.

"I didn't mean to startle you or anything." Too late for that. "I just wanted to talk to you about your parents."

"What exactly do you know?" My surprise quickly turned into anger. My landlord knew something about my past and didn't bother to help me?

"Well, I don't know much about them, but they were great people."

"What was my mother like?" I asked.

"She was a beautiful lady. Gorgeous hair and a stunning face. And she had the personality to match. She also had a good kick, like you do." He rubbed his chest where I had kicked him, most likely still feeling the sting of it.

"What about my father?"

"He was a good man, they both were. Their only wish was for me to make sure you grew up happy and safe. When I saw you arrive in Magnolia, I had to fulfill their wish."

His straightforward answers made me question him a bit. They were just too simple for me, as if he was trying to hide something. But I tried to make sense out of it.

"My parents sounded like good people. What happened to them?"

"Well, prior to your birth, the two were mages in that nearby guild you're in. I forget the name, Fairies something."

"Fairy Tail," I corrected.

"Yeah that. Unfortunately, they angered the wrong person and decided to retire. They used to live in the apartment that I currently occupy when they had you, and since then you lived here in Magnolia. But your parents soon disappeared and I never seen them or you again, until two years ago, when you came back."

"I see." Afterwards, he continued about how they loved me and wanted to see me grow up. I began to tear up, my eyes getting more and more watery as the landlord spoke. I finally knew something about my past. I had two loving parents who taught me how to cook and fight. They were powerful mages in Fairy Tail, and had a penchant for swords. The landlord pulled me into a hug. For a minute, I cried my eyes out, thanking him for telling me. Soon after, I had recovered and he left, wishing me goodnight.

After he left, I cooked, ate (although it was difficult with a sore jaw) and went into my room. I thought about what the landlord told me about my parents. I could only imagine how great they must've been and wished that they were here now. As I walked over to the closet, I saw the sword, still in the same place I left it. However, upon closer inspection, the chain appeared to have somewhat loosened off of the blade. Noticing the change, I tried to pick up the sword, and much to my pleasure, it was back to its normal weight. I wondered if the sword reflected my emotions, being heavy when I'm in doubt and light when I'm relieved.

Like two years ago, I tugged at the chain, and part of it came off this time. But as I was doing that, I suddenly had another violent flash attack. The first thing I saw was the old man again. He was talking to another man. I couldn't catch what they were saying, but I could recognize the light brown hair on the second man. It was the same color and style as the landlord. They seemed to be talking at length about something, with the landlord looking somewhat panicked. Before I could see anything else, my vision had ended and I was on the floor. My head was still throbbing, but I finally saw that the landlord knew more than he was letting on. He lied to me, or at the very least didn't tell me the whole story. Angered, I vowed that night that I would make the landlord tell me everything he knew no matter the risks.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5: Mr. Landlord

The next morning, I had got up early to do some jogging around Magnolia. When I had got back, it was about 8 am. As I was going towards my apartment, I was greeted by the landlord, who just happened to be getting ready to leave. I caught a glimpse of the apartment and saw a green bag resting on a table in the living room. Sitting next to it was a lighter, but I took no attention to those items. I wished the landlord a good day and went back to my apartment. I immediately looked out my window and saw the landlord heading in the same direction I took on my morning jog. I found it suspicious, but decided not to follow him. Instead, I took a shower and changed clothes. Afterwards, I headed to Fairy Tail.

Inside I saw Cana talking to Macao and Wakaba. They seemed to be discussing a mission that they had gone on a couple of days ago. When I stopped at their table to say hello, Cana quickly hugged me, making my face turn into a tomato.

"Wh...what's going on Cana?" I asked, startled by her action.

"I heard what happened to you while I was out on a mission." Gray must've told her. "Are you feeling okay?"

Her sweet voice completely made me block out her worry, but I snapped back from my imagination and patted her on the shoulders. "I'm fine." Her face still showed concern. "Really, I'm fine. I just had a bad headache."

"Okay, but if you need any help, call me on this card." Cana handed me a card that said "Call Cana" on it. I took it and walked towards the bar. It suddenly clicked in my mind that Cana just gave me a way to contact her at any time. My face became super red at the thought that Cana and I would have more contact because of this card. But I quickly shook it off when I saw Natsu and Erza over by the request board.

"Erza, I'm going on this mission okay," Natsu said while holding up a request.

'You're not ready for this yet," Erza said. "You can't take on an entire dark guild by yourself."

"Yes I can!"

"You'll get yourself into trouble if you take that mission," I said.

"Drayden, stay outta-"

"Drayden is right," Erza said, cutting Natsu off and staring him down.

"Yes ma'am." Natsu then walked away, sulking with his head down. Happy was following close by, leaving me to talk with Erza.

"Are you feeling better? I heard about your fight with Natsu and Gray."

"Yeah, I'm fine," I said with a grin on my face. "Have you seen the master around?"

"He stepped out with a man earlier."

A man? Could it have been the landlord?

"Did he have light brown hair?" I asked, nervous about the answer.

"Actually, yeah. He did have light brown hair. But why-"

"Do you know where they went?" I said, my voice clearly showing signs of panic.

"I'm not sure but they headed in the direction of the cathedral."

I took off running, not looking back at anyone in the guild. How is it possible that the landlord got here before I did? I saw him walking in the opposite direction. He took the route I jogged on every morning. Was that just to deceive me?

Before I knew it, I had arrived at the Kardia Cathedral. I burst through the doors and noticed that no one was there. I went back outside and looked around the area, but I couldn't find them. However, the place was too quiet for this time of day. Normally, there would be a couple of people inside or around the church. So why weren't there any today?

I walked back towards the guild hall, scouring every alley and street I could find to see any sign of the two men. When that failed, I headed back to my apartment. Exhausted and upset, I took a seat on the couch and punched the wall beside it. If anything happened to the master, I swore I would do nothing less than kill the landlord. I looked at the palm of my hands and went into deep thought. These thoughts of revenge and murder weren't like me. In the two years that I do remember, never had I had a bad thought like that. Maybe I really was an abomination. Before I could sink any further into a depression, I got up off the couch and walked to my room.

The sword was the first thing I looked at. Part of the chain was on the floor and for the most part, it was also loosened. Desperate for answers, I began tugging at the chain. If it worked once, why not work again? More of the chain came off, but unlike last time, I didn't have a flash attack. The chain was halfway off of the blade at this point, and didn't seem to come off any further. Frustrated, I kicked the blade. However, I missed and ended up cutting my leg against the blade. The wound wasn't too deep, but blood began appearing, filling the wound. As I was about to go to the bathroom and treat my injury, a black mist appeared from the wound and instantly healed it. Just like that, the wound closed right up, leaving no indication that it existed. Then, I noticed that my body was emitting a strange black aura around me. My eyes opened wide as I began feeling heavy. My body felt like a ton of bricks and I dropped to my knees. I found it difficult to breathe and passed out shortly after.

When I came to, I found myself on a green couch. The first thing I noticed was the sound of a pot whistling. I looked around and saw that I wasn't in my house. There were two green lamps on each side of the couch. There was a table that sat in front of the couch, with what appeared to be "dirty" magazines. What pervert got his hands on me?

As I sat up, I saw another table in the distance, and there was the same green bag and lighter that I saw earlier in the day. I knew that I was in the landlord's apartment. This was further proven when the landlord came out of the adjacent kitchen with two cups in one hand and hot water in the other.

"Want some tea?" he asked.

"Sure."

The landlord went back into the kitchen after setting the items on the table and came back with two tea bags. As he was pouring the water into the cups, I pointed at the magazines and he quickly blushed with embarrassment.

"Sorry," he said, rubbing the back of his head. "I wasn't expecting guest so I didn't have time to clean up."

After he put away the magazines, he sat down in a chair across from me and began sipping his tea.

"What happened?" he asked. "I had knocked on your door to check on you and when I didn't hear anything, I opened the door. You were on the floor, unconscious in your room."

"Nothing," I replied. I wasn't keen on telling him anything else about me for fear that I might scare him away. "I was just really tired and I must've passed out from exhaustion."

"I've been telling you that you need to stop your early morning exercises. A young boy like you needs to get his sleep so you can grow up to be big and strong." I huffed at his comment.

"I'm not some little kid you know."

He continued to sip his tea, but I was wary about doing the same. Thoughts in my head kept popping up, wondering if he did something to the tea. If it was some sort of potion, then I would be at his mercy until I either snapped out of it or died. And there was still the question of where and what he did with the master. I wasn't taking any chances with this guy. I decided to be direct with him, in hopes that he would come clean about his actions.

"My friend said she saw you walk away with the master of Fairy Tail. Is this true?"

The landlord looked at me, putting his cup of tea on the table. "Yeah, I wanted to talk to him about something and he was willing to walk with me to the Cathedral. Why, did you need him for something?"

"That's funny because I went to the Cathedral right after she told me and I couldn't find you nor the master there," I said. My tone was harsh and I became highly skeptical.

"You must have missed us," he said, mustering a laugh in the process. "You should hurry up and drink your tea before it gets cold.

"I'm not that thirsty anymore," I said, getting up off of the couch. I began heading towards the door when the landlord flew past me and blocked my path.

"No you don't," the landlord said. "You're staying with me tonight. I can't have you in that apartment by yourself while you're passing out at random times."

Despite my best efforts, the landlord was adamant in his decision and wouldn't let me leave. Seeing that I was trapped in here for the night, I reluctantly agreed to stay with him. He accepted my response and finished off his tea before taking my cup and drinking the now room temperature tea. As he went back to the kitchen, I sat down on the couch. Thinking to myself, I realized that this was my only chance to find the landlord's true identity. He gave me the perfect opportunity to snoop around.

I could hear him in the kitchen, humming away as if everything was fine. I got up and went to the table that had the green bag on it. The bag itself was light and didn't appear to have much in it but papers. But when I opened it, I saw pieces of a blade to a sword. I took each piece out and analyzed them carefully. Based on how long each piece was, I saw that it was the same height as my sword. However, I also saw the hilt, which was orange with black diamonds on it. A sigh of relief came over me when I figured that it wasn't my sword. I quickly put the pieces back and put the bag back on the table. While I still wasn't sure who he was, the fact that he had a sword like mine strengthened my suspicions. I needed to know more though. I began to think back to what he had said the day before and remembered that he said that this used to be my parent's apartment. I went into the kitchen and saw the landlord chopping up some onions and peppers. He took notice of me and smiled before going back to chopping up the vegetables.

"I hope you like my special spaghetti and meat sauce," he said enthusiastically. He could act all innocent if he wanted to but I wasn't here to be buddies with him. I just needed answers.

"Say, I was wondering if you would give me a tour of my parents' old apartment. It looks pretty cool," I said, almost gagging on my sweet little boy act.

"I would, but this is your home too you know. You're free to explore if you like. Any questions you have, don't hesitate to ask me." I'll be sure to remember that.

Taking his directive, I went to the furthermost part of the apartment. For one thing, this apartment was bigger than the one I lived in. There were two bedrooms across from one another with a bathroom next to each bedroom. As I explored each room, there was nothing out of the ordinary. In the first room, there was nothing but a big bed with a dresser and mirror. Clothes were scattered throughout the room and the "dirty" magazines from earlier rested on top of a box that said "Papa's little secret." I almost vomited at the fact that my landlord is a huge pervert. I got over it and went into the next room. Unlike the other room, it was neat and orderly. There was a single bed in there with a rocket covered blanket on top. There was a box full of toys underneath it and in the closet was a bunch of swords, all with the same gray hilt on it. The sight of it made me close the closet swiftly. Everything seemed normal and surprisingly consistent with the landlord's story (except for the magazines). However, as I was leaving the room, part of a chain hit me on the head. When I looked up, I saw part of a sword and a chain hanging above the door. When I pulled the chain, the whole sword was revealed to me and I instantly noticed that it was mine. It seemed to have been hidden from plain sight due to some magic spell. This proved that the landlord knew more than he was letting on.

With the sword in my hand (half the chain still attached), I walked back to the kitchen and confronted the landlord with the evidence. When he looked up at me, he dropped his knife on the counter and looked at me in shock.

"What're you doing with that sword?" the landlord said, trembling with every word.

"I should be asking you the same thing," I retorted. "Now if you don't mind, I'm ready to ask you some questions."

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**Thanks guys for reading and hope you are enjoying it so far. Review and let me know what you guys think and check out my other story "An Eagle's Pride" if you like. **


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6: Revelations (Part 1)

The sword was gripped tightly in my hand in case the landlord tried anything funny. We stared at each other for a few minutes; neither one of our eyes looked away from one another for a split second. The tension was high and I could see that the landlord was at a loss of words. It was evident on his face that he had been caught and now he was trying to piece together a wonderful explanation to all of this.

"Drayden," he said, finally breaking the silence, "let me finish dinner and then we'll talk. I promise."

So you can come up with another lie? I think not.

"I'm done waiting, now tell me why my sword is here." I pointed the sword straight at him. My eyes became daggers and I could tell that they were tearing him apart.

"Please Drayden, put the sword down. No one needs to get hurt."

"Hurt? HURT?!" I yelled. In my furious state, intense thoughts of how I was going to kill this guy popped up in my head. "You want to talk about hurting someone? Think of how I felt knowing that you knew my parents and didn't tell me about them, how you just came into my apartment uninvited, twice, and decided that it was okay to take my sword and hide it from me. Who the hell are you?"

I panted violently, my mini speech taking the wind out of me. As I looked up at the landlord, he had a sorrowful look on his face. In his eyes, tears were forming. He tried to hold back his crying by biting his lip, but was unsuccessful and dropped to his knees, crying as he was doing so.

Why was he crying? What reason did this man have for crying? As far as I knew, he was someone who couldn't be trusted, a liar at its finest. This was probably just a part of his act.

"I'm sorry Drayden, I'm so sorry," the landlord said in between his sobs.

Suddenly, a magic circle appeared below my feet. I quickly looked down and looked back up to see the landlord say "Sleep Magic: Knockout". I began feeling drowsy and my body grew weaker every second. Before I knew it, I had passed out, the last thing I saw being the landlord's face. It looked like it was full of regret.

When I came to, I looked around and saw that I was in my room on the bed. My sword was resting near the closet, where it was before I collapsed. The sun was shining as bright as usual, which told me that it was the next day (probably around noon). As I got out of bed, I heard shouting from out my window. When I looked outside, I saw that Natsu, Happy and Gray were standing outside, and with them was Cana. Why are they here? My face began to heat up when I thought about why Cana was there with them. Did Cana come to check on me? I couldn't let her (or the others) stay outside so I yelled at her (and the others) to come up. Before letting them in, I looked at my sword and saw that it was exactly as I left it. Upon closer inspection, I noticed that the chain was higher up than the one I saw last night. Either the chain was wrapped up higher by someone, or the sword I found in the landlord's apartment wasn't mine. If the second one was true, then whose sword was it and why did it look like mine? I had no time to think about it any further as Natsu began banging on my door in frustration.

When I let them in, I received a good punch to the face by Natsu, which sent me to the ground.

"What was that for?" I asked as I writhed in pain.

"That was for yesterday, you jerk," Natsu replied, reminding me of when I interrupted his decision to take on a dark guild by himself.

"Like you could've taken out an entire guild," Gray said which resulted in the two boys butting heads as usual.

As the two were arguing, Cana and Happy helped me up and tried to stop the two from fighting. After they calmed down, Cana explained to me that the master had sent them to my apartment to check on me. I was glad that the master was fine (which meant that I didn't have to kill the landlord) but once again I managed to make them worry about me, which pissed me off. However, I didn't show my anger towards them and showed them I was fine.

"You sure you're fine?" Gray asked in his worried tone.

"Yeah. I can't sleep in once in a while? I am a growing boy after all." That last sentence made me upset but I tried to laugh it off.

"Okay," Cana said. I was instantly distracted and mesmerized by her voice. "I'll go back to the guild and tell the master that you're fine." I nodded at her, but inwardly was sad that she was leaving so soon.

"Natsu, why don't you go back with Cana?" Gray asked.

"Who are you to tell me what to do, ice queen?" Natsu retorted.

Before any fighting could take place, Cana grabbed Natsu and dragged him out with her, Happy following close by. I guessed that she understood Gray's reasoning, but I sure didn't. After they left, Gray and I were staring at each other. He waited a minute before speaking.

"The master said that he found something about your past."

Shock and curiosity were my first two reactions to his comment. Even though I was speechless, the look on my face was more than enough for Gray to know to continue on.

"It's sketchy, but he believes that you were a part of a clan known as the Kusenumi. They were famous for their swordsmanship and exclusive sword magic."

Still shocked, I thought to myself about the name "Kusenumi." It didn't ring any bells but I was certain that I may have been one of them, considering that I had a sword of my own in my possession. If this was the case, then perhaps the landlord and I were more closely related than I initially thought. I instantly ran out of the apartment, Gray right behind me, and headed to the landlord's apartment. I didn't feel like waiting for him to answer the door (if he was even there), so I kicked it in. It took a couple of tries, but I managed to break the door down and entered the apartment. It was completely empty. All of the furniture was gone and the green bag was nowhere to be found. When I went into the rooms, they were both empty as well. I checked the closet that had all the swords and they were all gone. However, there was a note on the closet wall.

It read: "Dear Drayden, I'm so sorry about everything. The lies, the deception, I must've put you through hell without even knowing it. I wanted to protect you, from your past, but I failed. I know you probably won't forgive me for hiding it from you, but trust me when I say it's for your own good. I will tell you that once you completely remove that chain from your sword, there's no going back. I hope that you will make the right decision, and maybe we'll see each other again soon. Stay safe, your friend Ethin."

Friend? Tried to protect me? From what? My anger and resentment I had for this guy only grew from this note. What friend lets their friend go on for two years, blind about his past, and expects them to make the right decision? What decision was there to make? I needed to get back my memories, and then maybe go and find my "friend" Ethin.

Gray came into the room, confused about my actions. I guess he must've seen me look distraught and asked me if I was okay. I had no intentions of telling Gray about Ethin, no matter how much it hurt me to lie to him, especially since I told him about my memory loss. I lied and said I was fine and headed back to my apartment to shower. Gray waited while I freshened up and changed clothes and we headed to the guild.

On the way there, I saw the annoying kid who always complains walking in our direction. However, this time he was alone and unusually quiet. As I walked pass him, I heard the kid mumble "embrace the darkness". I stopped dead in my tracks and turned around, but the boy was gone. I began shaking like a leaf. Did he just tell me to "embrace the darkness?" What the hell did that even mean? I was deep in thought until Gray snapped me out of it, questioning my state of mind.

"Didn't you see that kid?" I asked nervously, still shaken up by the boy's words.

"What kid?" Gray asked in confusion.

"I swear there was a kid walking past us."

"The heat must be getting to you. Come on, let's hurry to the guild."

I nodded and we continued walking. For the rest of the way there, I kept replaying that scene in my mind. What darkness could he possibly be talking about? The thought of this "darkness" brought me back to my vivid nightmare. Could I being called an abomination and this darkness be related? I had to find out.

When we arrived at the guild, everything was normal. The normal drinking, horseplay and loud chatting was going strong. Gray led me to the master, who was on the second floor, sitting down on a chair. It appeared to look like he was deep in thought about something, but he quickly broke out of it once he saw me. Still on the first floor, he stopped us and jumped down, doing a flip in midair that resulted in him hitting the floor face first. I looked on in worry but the master got up and assured me that he was fine. He then lightly pushed me and Gray outside without saying a word. I could tell from everyone's looks that they knew something was going on, but no one voiced their opinion and went about their business.

Outside, the master led us to the open area where Natsu, Gray and I had fought. With his hands behind his back, he began speaking.

"Drayden, did Gray tell you about the Kusenumi clan?"

I nodded my head.

"Good, so I can skip that part." The master's voice lowered to a whisper as he gestured for us to come closer.

"What I'm about to say must stay between us, got it?" Gray and I looked at each other and then nodded. The master smiled and continued. "Drayden, your memories were blocked out by some sort of memory erasing magic. It seems that whoever used that spell on you wanted to make sure that you wouldn't remember a thing." That made sense to me as I remembered Ethin's note. Perhaps he was the one who casted it on me. "However, for some reason, that spell is wearing off."

"How do you know that?" I asked.

"Well for one thing, those visions you said you had are most likely pieces of your past that have resurfaced. Also, when Porlyusica was examining you, she noticed that some sort of magic power was concentrated at your head. It had this dark aura around it." Dark aura?! I remembered when I was surrounded by a black aura yesterday. I began getting more and more nervous.

"If the spell that was casted on Drayden was supposed to suppress his memories, why is it wearing off?" Gray asked. He seemed just as curious as I was about all of this.

"The spell seems to be linked to Drayden. Perhaps it's in the form of a tattoo or birthmark on his body," the master said, scratching his head. I didn't recall any strange markings on my body, but I was quickly reminded that Ethin referred to the chain on my sword in his note.

"I think I know what that link is," I said. I gestured for the master and Gray to follow me back to my apartment. Once we were there, I went into my room and carried the sword out to the living room. Setting it on the floor, the master looked over it with precision. His eyes didn't leave the sword for a few minutes, and after some minutes of silence he started talking.

"This is definitely a Kusenumi sword," he said. "The chain seems to be emitting some sort of magic power. I'm certain that this is the link."

"Then all I have to do is remove it and my memories will come back right?" I asked.

"Theoretically, yes. But I don't know the effects it may have on your body." The master looked concerned, and was about to take the sword when I started yanking at the chain.

The master and Gray looked on in shock as I struggled to remove the chain. I wanted to pull it off. I needed to pull it off. It was thanks to this thing that I was in the dark for two long years. I was going to make sure that this chain came off, regardless of what happened. Ethin's words popped up in my mind. "…once you completely remove that chain from your sword, there's no going back." I didn't care. The only thought I had was that I would know the truth once it came off. And after a minute of pulling and tugging, the chain ripped off the sword and disappeared into thin air. The three of us were dumbstruck. The chain was off, revealing the full luster of the blade.

"Feel any different yet?" Gray asked.

As I was about to answer, the dark aura surrounded me again. Unlike last time, the aura was thicker and darker than last time. The worst part was that the aura seemed to be burning my skin, and I screamed in pain. It was excruciating. It felt like fire was being dumped on me in a continuous stream. The master and Gray rushed to me as I fell to the floor in pain. The master attempted to dispel the aura, but failed to do so. As they were screaming, I began to pass out. I found it hard to breathe and by the time I lost consciousness, I regretted acting so hastily. If I died here, then all of the master's effort would have gone to waste. My last thoughts were that of my friends in Fairy Tail. Natsu, Happy, Erza, Gray, Cana, the master. All of them I would be leaving behind, and I didn't even get to say goodbye.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7: Revelations (Part 2)

"Drayden? Drayden dear? Wake up, you got training today," said a voice. I could tell it was a woman's, but I didn't know who.

I opened my eyes and found myself in a somewhat decorated room. The walls were gray in color, but had different drawings that were primarily white. They were sloppily drawn, and I couldn't tell what they were supposed to represent. There was a dresser to my right which was next to the bed that I was in. It was a simple metal bed with a fluffy mattress and a brown comforter over it. Standing over me was a gorgeous woman. She was of average height with long, silky black hair, which was tied up with a blue ribbon. Her grey eyes shone like diamonds and sent me nothing but warmth and peace. She was wearing a long white dress that extended down to her calves. It seemed to brighten the dim room.

I got off of the bed and looked at her with curious eyes. I had never seen the woman before, and yet, I got the sense that I not only knew her, but loved her as well. She had this aura that seemed to bring nothing but happiness and comfort to me. I couldn't help but hug her; her sweet flower scent filled up my nose.

"What's wrong dear? Did you have a nightmare?" she asked, her tone showing concern.

I nodded in disagreement and she patted me on the head. Afterwards, she reminded me again that I had training and left the room. As I was exiting the room, I sensed a familiar presence behind me. When I turned around, I saw a dark aura, similar to the one that surrounded me right before I collapsed.

"So you decided to find out the truth eh?" the dark aura said.

"YOU CAN TALK?!" I questioned in astonishment.

"Of course I can." The dark aura suddenly took the form of the kid that Gray and I passed (or at least the one I passed). "How else would I be able to tell you to 'embrace the darkness'?"

"Just who the hell are you?" I clenched my fists in preparation for attack.

"Why, I'm you."

"Me!" How is this possible? He couldn't possibly be me. I'm standing right here.

"To be more correct, I'm another part of you."

"Another part of me?"

"Yep. But I'll let this explain it to you. After all, they say experience is better than talking."

The aura disappeared, leaving me confused and scared. What the hell did I just see? I tried to shake it off, convincing myself that whatever that was didn't exist. But if he did, and he was telling the truth, could this be another vision? I had to know more.

I put on my clothes and left the room, where I saw the woman setting up a table for breakfast. On the table were waffles, pineapples, bacon and scrambled eggs. In addition, four plates rested on the table with forks and napkins.

"Drayden, could you help me finish setting up the table please?"

"Yeah, sure." I wasn't sure whether or not this was another vision, as I had little to no interactions with anyone in them, but I decided to play along. If that dark aura was hinting at what I thought he was hinting at, then I would be able to get answers about my past from this.

After we finished setting up the table, I sat down in one of the chairs while the woman began fixing my plate.

"How many waffles do you want?"

"Just one."

"One?!" Her face lit up due to her surprise and she started screaming, waving the spatula around like she was swatting a fly. "Under no circumstances will I allow you to leave this house no less than full. Now you're gonna eat at least two you got that?!"

As fear began to arise, I wondered about this lady's state of mind. But, seeing as though she was angry, I decided to let it go and try to calm her down.

"Sorry, you're right. I'll take three please." I guess she caught my apology and calmed down.

"Now that's more like it."

Afterwards, she put the bacon and eggs onto my plate. As she was doing so, I constantly kept staring at her eyes. They brought a feeling of hatred and displeasure and yet they looked so beautiful. I had mixed feelings for them, cycling back and forth between love and hate. She caught me spacing out and smacked me with the spatula, hitting me in the back of the head. I rubbed the back of my head, which stung fiercely. Before I could say anything, she started to speak.

"Is everything alright Drayden? You don't seem like your cheery self today."

It was hard to be cheery when you don't know a single thing and some random dark aura claims to be your counterpart. However, her troubled expression told me that I had to at least try to pass as the past Drayden, and not the Drayden I am now.

"I'm fine. I'm just still groggy from you waking me up." I threw in a laugh for good measure, hoping that it would ease her troubles a little. I guess it managed to work and she laughed with me.

"I told you not to stay up late last night."

"Sorry, I couldn't help myself."

"Okay okay. Just remember that your auntie is here to help anytime." She flashed a huge smile at me and I smiled back.

I finally met one of my family members. The excitement built up tremendously and I couldn't help but start tearing up.

"What's wrong dear?" she asked, touching my forehead.

"Nothing, I'm just happy to be here with you auntie." She pulled me into a hug and we hugged for a good minute.

"Same here Drayden."

Afterwards, she fixed her plate as well as the two other plates there.

"What's with the two extra plates?"

"They're for you dear. Two extra plates for a greedy child." I grouched at the comment, leading her to burst out laughing. "I'm just kidding," she continued. "You know who they're for, your friend and your mom silly. She went to go get him. They should be here shortly."

The thought that I would get to see my mom sent excitement rushing through my veins. To think, I got to meet my aunt and soon my mother. I hoped that I got to see my father too. But I was wary about this "friend". My thoughts quickly went back to Ethin, who I despised with all my heart. I didn't know what I would do if he showed up here, but I knew that I had to play it cool. If this was my past, then I had to see it through the end.

While I was deep in thought, I heard the front door open, followed by two sets of footsteps. The first person to enter the room my aunt and I were in was a short kid, roughly about the same height as me. He had light brown hair with hazel eyes. He was wearing a brown t-shirt with brown pants. His shoes were at the front door, so I couldn't see them. His expression on his face was blank and detached. He seemed like one of those loner types. I didn't believe how we could've been friends, but I hoped to find some redeeming quality about him. Then, a woman walked in. My eyes immediately opened when I saw what my mother looked like. She was wearing exactly what I had seen in my vision. I instantly knew that she was the woman who told me to run. She was wearing her olive green dress, except she wasn't wearing her apron or bandana. Because of that, her long grey hair that shined like the moon was visible. Her grey eyes were also bright like my aunt's. Again, the color deeply disgusted me but I managed to hide it. I was too happy to see my mother again, even if it wasn't real.

"I see you finished breakfast early, Oneida-chan," my mother said. Her voice was smooth and gentle. It was hard for me to imagine that she was the same woman yelling at me. Her voice seemed incapable of shouting.

"What you expect, Lalia? I had to hurry up so the kids could go train. Now let's eat."

Oneida and Lalia? They were two beautiful names for two beautiful ladies. I was fascinated by their interaction. My mom was clearly the younger one, and she had so much respect for her older sibling. Aunt Oneida was rasher when she spoke to mom, but still showed that there was sibling love between them. I started imagining myself with a brother or sister of my very own (not like that was possible since they were neither present nor mentioned). However, I was quickly taken out of my thoughts by my aunt, who was calling my name. I shook my head in shock and mom and auntie laughed. Afterwards, we said "Itadakimasu" and ate.

After breakfast, auntie washed the dishes while mom got me ready for training. My "friend", who looked a lot like a younger Ethin, was standing near the door. He seemed impatient and wanted to leave as soon as possible. Once mom finished getting me ready, she handed me my sword and kissed my forehead. I was sad to be leaving her so soon after I met her, but I had no choice in the matter. I had my own objectives to do and I had to make sure that I did them. I needed to know my past.

"Good luck today sweetie," mom said as me and my "friend" were leaving.

Once we were outside, I noticed that the sky was cloudy, which irritated me more than I already was. The buildings seemed to be in the same square shape I saw them in two years ago. So I did live in this town when I was smaller. But why was it destroyed? As I thought about that question, my "friend" poked my arm, which resulted in my death glare. As our eyes met, he seemed to still be detached from existence.

"Why are you just standing around? Let's go," he said in an irritating tone.

"Fine."

As we were walking, I questioned him about our destination. After some insults from him (he was just lucky that there were witnesses), he said that we were heading to my grandfather's training grounds. I started imagining my grandfather and wondered if he was the same man I saw in one of my visions. I broke out of my imagination when I heard someone shouting.

"ABOMINATION!" the voice shouted.

"GO BACK TO WHERE YOU CAME FROM, DEMON!" another voice shouted.

I stopped dead in my tracks and saw that there were people on balconies and elevated porches around us. They all had their glared fixed on me. Kids were amongst the people, and some of them picked up rocks and threw it at me.

"ABOMINATION!" the kids shouted.

As I was about to attack them, my "friend" stepped in, drawing his sword from its sheath, and deflected the rocks. His hilt was grey (which pissed me off). As I stared closer at it, I saw that it was the same sword that I saw in the closet.

"That's enough, don't you think?" he said. His usual emotionless demeanor did a complete 180°. He was visibly angry, glaring right back at the people. The kids backed off, but still muttered "abomination" under their breaths. One of the adults on the balconies shouted at my "friend".

"What are you doing Ethin? I thought I told you and your parents to stop hanging around that demon?"

My thoughts immediately shifted to Ethin. I knew they looked alike, but the Ethin I met was older and taller. He was a liar, and from my point of view, only cared about himself. He was a guy that I couldn't trust, and yet here he was, protecting me from harm.

"So what?" Ethin retorted. "I can choose who I want to hang out with, and my parents are okay with me hanging out with a demon." I took offense to that; I was clearly not a demon. "And besides, if you really have a problem with it, then you're going to have to deal with me first."

I couldn't believe the words that came out of his mouth. Not only was he protecting me from physical harm, but he was standing up for me. His tone carried authority and discipline. It wasn't shaky like the person who shouted at Ethin. I stood there dumbstruck by Ethin's actions. Still in my state of shock, Ethin grabbed my hand and dragged me through the crowd of people that had started to come. Some of them still had their death glares fixated on me, but most were looking at Ethin, just as shocked as I was.

Before I knew it, we had arrived to the training grounds. There wasn't much to look at. The area was mostly covered with grass. There were some rocks positioned around the area. Some had pieces broken off of them. There was a little house further in the training grounds. Looking around (the shock had worn off at this point), I saw an old man, sitting on the ground with his legs crossed. He was sitting near a tree and appeared to be meditating. He had a sword lying next to him in the grass. It was encased in a green sheath with a green hilt, which had white stripes around it.

As Ethin and I walked over to him, I thanked Ethin for his actions. However, he disregarded my gratitude and called me weak. I ignored his comment, although I wanted to beat the crap out of him. It puzzled me why we were friends, and I sighed heavily at the thought. But I got over it when we reached my grandfather.

"Hey granddad," I said.

"Hello Shunji-sama," Ethin said excitingly. Once again, I was left dazed by his sudden change in behavior.

"Hello kids." He glanced at us for a second before turning back around. "Did you have any trouble today getting here?"

"Actu-" I was punched in the gut by Ethin, who cut me off.

"No sir. We got here smoothly."

"I see. Well, get yourselves settled in and return here in ten minutes."

"Okay," we said in unison, with me in pain due to the punch.

As we went inside, I tried to hit Ethin but missed and landed on the floor.

"What the heck was that for?" I asked as I picked myself off of the floor.

"He doesn't need to know anything," Ethin said. "Your grandfather tries his best to make sure things like that don't happen to you. The least I could do is help him do that. I owe him after all." Ethin's emotionless face became somewhat saddened at the last sentence.

"Owe him for what?" I asked, not sure whether or not I wanted to know the answer.

"For letting me have a friend like you."

My face lit up in surprise. Why in the world would you have to owe someone for letting you have a friend? I then thought to the names the people called me. Perhaps Ethin was the one person who stood up for me when I was younger and people criticized him for doing it.

"I should be the one saying that," I said. "It was thanks to you that I got through that crowd today." I managed to pull a smile, but it was quickly rejected by Ethin, who reverted back to his emotionless state.

"You shouldn't be getting weak, you idiot. I could still become your enemy."

I sucked my teeth and went back to the training grounds. Despite his comment, I caught him lightly smiling at me from behind. Ethin was truly my friend.

The rest of the day went off without a hitch. Instead of fighting like I thought I would be doing, we just meditated for hours until the sun set. It was peaceful, being able to listen to the sounds of nature around you. I felt relieved and relaxed, and I could tell that Ethin and my grandfather felt the same. As Ethin and I were getting ready to leave, my grandfather stopped me, letting Ethin get a fair distance away from me before he spoke.

"Listen Drayden, I want you to remain strong okay. Pretty soon, the people of this temple will see you as a bright, extraordinary kid and not some evil demon." He smiled and patted my head. "I can tell that you have a light that no one else has. You just have to find it in the dark."

I didn't know what he meant by his last comment, but I took it as his way of comforting me and thanked him. That night, Ethin went home to his parents while I walked by myself. I managed to convince Ethin that I would be fine and that he didn't need to walk me home. Besides, I didn't want him to be walking back and forth just for me. As I was walking, I noticed the dark aura again and this time it appeared in front of me. It took the shape of the kid and started walking with me.

"Say Drayden, how're you liking this fantasy so far?" he asked sarcastically.

Upset with his comment, I tried to punch him, but my hand just phased through.

"I'll take that as a no then?"

"I'm actually quite fond of this. I got to know a little more about my past. But I don't see how this is explaining anything you said earlier."

"You'll see. Just wait for it." He started disappearing, but before he vanished, he said something that troubled me. "And once you see it, you'll have no choice but to embrace the darkness." He then vanished without a trace.

Again with that whole "embrace the darkness" thing? He was beginning to annoy me, but I shook it off once I arrived home. When I entered, I saw that my aunt and mom weren't there. I assumed that they must've been out shopping or something, as my mom was talking about late night shopping during breakfast. I went into the room and quickly went to sleep.

A couple of hours later, I was awakened by a loud scream. I quickly got up, grabbed my sword and ran out into the living room, where I saw a man standing over my aunt. I trembled when I saw that she was dead, with her blood on the man's blade. Anger and rage were building up within me and I was about to charge at this man for killing MY family when the dark aura came out again. He took his kid form and looked at the murderer and then at me.

"So, what are you going to do Drayden?" he asked, refocusing his attention on the murderer.

"Demon," he said in a calm tone, "prepare yourself for death. Neither you nor your supporters shall live."

The man charged at me, with his sword dripping blood on the floor. The dark aura looked at me again, but this time had a smug look on his face.

"So, what are you going to do Drayden?" he repeated.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8: Revelations (Part 3)

The man was charging at Drayden with his sword in his hand. Blood was dripping onto the ground.

"So, what are you going to do Drayden?"

"I'm going to fight," I said, glaring at the murderer. "But I'm not going to 'embrace the darkness' like you want me to."

The dark aura looked disappointed and vanished, leaving me to deal with the murderer. I charged at him and clashed our swords together. His eyes showed hatred and antagonism against me. It was as though my existence alone was the reason for his resentment. We backed off and I charged at him again. Once again, our swords clashed. However, he was able to overpower me and knocked me down, sending my sword across the room. Defenseless, I sat on the floor, terrified of what was going to happen to me. The murderer was about to deliver his final blow when a burst of wind came through the window, sending glass towards me and the murderer. We both looked at the window and saw a figure appear. It turned out to be Ethin, who seemed to have heard the screams, despite the fact that he lived so far away from us.

"Form Break: Wind Form," Ethin shouted.

The sword in his hand began gathering wind around it, and he swung it at the murderer, which blew him out of the house and into the street. The murderer then ran away, possibly to avoid a fight with Ethin. After that, Ethin helped me up and picked up my sword. When he came back to return it to me, I was kneeling over my dead aunt, crying hysterically. My body was trembling violently, my tears were flooding my eyes and my mind was racing at the speed of light. Here lied my dead aunt, and I couldn't do a damn thing to protect her. I cursed myself in between my crying. Ethin stood over me, holding both of our swords. He tried to pick me up but I brushed it off.

"Crying isn't bringing her back Drayden," he said remorsefully.

"Don't you think I know that," I snapped back. "It was my fault that she died. If I had been awake and with her at the time, then this-"

"Aerial Shot."

Ethin's sword gathered wind around it and he swiped it at me, sending me into the dining room table, knocking me unconscious. When I came to, I found myself in a dimly lit room. I quickly realized that this was the same room that I was in during my vision a few days ago. The furniture was the same and I heard faint screaming coming from the outside of the door. I knew how this was going to play out, so I tried to formulate a plan to defend myself. However, I noticed that my sword wasn't around, which meant that Ethin took it somewhere. But where was it?

My attention swiftly turned back to the shouting and the emphatic "NO" was heard again. I was hesitant to open the door, but my body suddenly started moving on its own. I tried desperately to stop it, but failed and opened the door, but not revealing myself to anyone. There was my mother and the disheveled man. They were arguing, with the man referring to me as an abomination. I tried again to come up with a plan, but I realized that no matter how much I tried, I wouldn't be able to control the events around me. Could I even control the events from before?

"Nope," I heard a voice say. It was that of the dark aura, who manifested itself next to me. "By the way, make sure you use your mental voice when talking to me from here on out. You may not be able to control your actions, but people can still hear you if you talk."

"Who are you?" I mentally voiced.

"I said all will be revealed after this is over. Can't you just wait a little longer?" he said irritatingly.

"No, I can't. But since you're so adamant about not telling me your identity, then tell me who these guys are and why they're killing my family."

"Now I definitely can't tell you that. It'll ruin the fun. Just watch your past unfold in front of you, and be prepared to embrace my darkness. Bye bye." The aura disappeared again, leaving me to think about what he said. I'll just have to wait a little longer. But will I make it through this?

By the time I started to get into deep thought, my body started moving on its own again and I found myself face to face with the man and my mom. Once again, she yelled for me to run while the man charged at me with his dagger. This time, it did hit me, striking my abdomen. As he pulled the blade out, I fell to the floor and cried in pain. The blood was getting everywhere, soaking through my clothes in an instant and creating a pool on the floor. I started coughing up blood and began crying.

"DRAYDEN!" my mom shouted.

"The deed has been done," the man said, glorified that he had done his job.

However, my mom had other plans for him and charged at him with her sword. My vision was blurry, but I saw that it was a small blade with a pink hilt. She used the sword and stabbed the man in the chest. Seeing the man pull his dagger towards my mom made me grab his leg and bite down on it, causing the man to scream. She pulled out the sword and yelled, stabbing him again in the head, which caused instant death. As the man dropped to the ground, my mom followed in suit and started crying.

"When did this world come to be like this?" she questioned. "Family killing family, friends killing friends. It's just not right. We're supposed to be here loving one another, not doing the opposite." Tears were streaming down her face as she rolled me over and applied pressure to my wound.

I could hear her voice, how it was full of pain and suffering. It was the inner turmoil she was enduring for all these years. I cursed at myself for making my mother cry. She deserved to live a life full of happiness. If I wasn't born, would this situation have happened? As I began slipping in and out of consciousness, my mom grabbed her sword and stabbed my wound.

"Form Break: Healing Form."

"Her sword shined a bright pink, and instantly began healing my wound. My semi-conscious state became that of complete consciousness. After she finished, she smiled at me. It was bright and full of warmth. She then pulled the sword out and stroked my hair, stating how beautiful my gray hair and eyes were. I could tell that I had got my looks from my mom, and I was happy that I did. She kept her smile on her face and started talking.

"Drayden Kusenumi…do you know why I named you 'Drayden'?" I nodded in disagreement, and she continued. "I named you Drayden because you reminded me of the first Kusenumi, Ryuutarou. I wanted to name you that, but your grandfather wouldn't let me. Said something about it being an exclusive name to the founder." I wasn't following anything she said. She got Drayden…from Ryuutarou? "But anyways, you and Ryuutarou looked exactly alike. It was like you were the reincarnation of him, and I loved that. I didn't care what anyone said about you. In my eyes, you weren't a demon, or abomination, or some sort of plague on society. I just saw you as Drayden, the fun loving boy with a tendency for unconditional love. You were always able to stand up tall in the face of adversity. No matter what someone threw at you, or the words they said to you, you would always come home with a smile on your face and say that you had a great day. Then you would go about your business. But today was different. I saw a side of you I didn't think existed. You were down, depressed almost. You looked sad or worried. Ethin told me you almost lost your temper today, which isn't like you at all. I started wondering, if all of the negativity was getting to you, and I decided to go out and buy you a gift."

She got up and pulled out a sword from under a table. My eyes opened up wide when I saw that it was the same orange and black sword I had seen in Ethin's green bag. "This was going to be my present to you. I know you liked this sword when we first saw a few years ago so I thought I would buy it for your birthday tomorrow. But since there won't be any celebrating, I might as well give it to you today. Happy birthday Drayden." Both of our eyes began tearing up and she hugged me tightly. "No matter what, I have and will always love you Drayden."

"I love you too."

Tears continued to flow down our faces. She let go of me and we stared at each other with our tear-filled eyes and smiled. Just then, Ethin walked in and saw us. He had this grin on his face that initially scared me. His happiness, though, came to an end when I got up and pointed the orange and black sword at him.

"What're you doing Drayden?" my mom asked.

"Who do you think you are, attacking me out of the blue earlier? And where's my sword?" I asked angrily.

"Look," Ethin said, "I know things seem bad, but I'm not the bad guy here." He pointed to the man who was on the floor. "I just attacked you so it would look like I was on their side. And I gave your sword to your grandfather. I don't know what he's doing with it though."

Before I could say anything else, my vision became blurry and I started feeling sleepy. My body felt heavy and I could no longer move it. I could tell that it was Ethin's sleep magic, this further proven when I saw the magic seal. I cursed Ethin and fell to the ground with a thud.

When I regained consciousness, I found myself in a large room. It was dimly lit and I could barely see anything past a couple of feet. The room had a smoky smell to it, and it was unusually hot. Upon further inspection of the room, I had recognized it as the same room that I saw Ethin and my grandfather talking in. In addition, I saw that I was near a window, and that it was already day time. The buildings nearby were on fire, and I could hear swords clashing in the distance. The area around was damaged heavily. Dead bodies were on the ground, some bathing in pools of blood. The scene was horrific and made me vomit a little. Just then, I saw Ethin and my grandfather walk in. Ethin, however, looked like the man I used to know as my landlord. They seemed to be talking at length about the situation outside, stating that it was a crisis. I could barely hear them but I was able to catch Ethin saying that he would deal with "him". This "him" was someone I didn't know, but I guessed it was the person who started this carnage. My grandfather turned his attention to me and walked over. He patted my shoulders and smiled. He then placed his hands on my head.

"Drayden, don't blame yourself for any of this," he started saying. "It's not your fault; no one could've predicted this outcome. But please, remember to remain strong and don't let your light be consumed by the darkness. The darkness is a terrifying thing and will stop at nothing to destroy you. I have no worries about that happening to you though. I love you Drayden, your family and friends all love you, and we always will love you."

A strange light started to emit from his hands and everything went dark. I woke up outside of the temple and saw the destruction I had seen before. As I stared at it in disbelief, everything suddenly disappeared, and was replaced with a black void-like space. The dark aura then manifested itself as the kid and stared at me for a few minutes. My eyes were like daggers while his were unemotional. He then broke the silence.

"So, how was your past? Did you enjoy it?" he asked, with a smug expression on his face.

"What was there to enjoy?" I questioned. "I saw people die right before my eyes. Innocent lives were taken that day because I existed."

"Hmmm, so you didn't enjoy it? I certainly did. I especially loved how you cried like a little girl."

Enraged, I attacked him, constantly trying to punch or kick him. However, I ended up exhausting myself while the ethereal figure stood there and laughed.

"Are you going to tell me what I asked now?" I questioned furiously.

"Nope. You still haven't seen 'it' yet," he replied.

"What is this 'it' that I have to see?"

"You'll know when you see. Until then, keep my offer in mind. I'll be sure to check back on you later now that you've set me free."

He disappeared and pretty soon I woke up (for real this time) in my bed. Standing above me was Porlyusica while the master was sitting on my bedside.

"It seems you've finally woke up," the master said, sounding relieved.

"How long was I out?"

"Three weeks."

"THREE WEEKS?!" I shouted in surprise.

The master nodded while Porlyusica went on her rant about how she hated humans and berated the master for bringing her here. She left shortly after (which I was thankful for). The master had gotten off of the bed and looked at me from the floor.

"It seemed as though you had a nightmare Drayden. Is everything okay?"

"No Makarov-sama, it isn't."

I went on to explain my past with Makarov. He listened to every detail and didn't question me when I would stop for a minute to stop myself from crying. When I finished telling him everything, he looked at me with pity. I certainly didn't need it, but I couldn't complain. I now knew more than what I initially knew, but it was as Ethin said, there would be no turning back. And I most certainly wasn't going to turn back, not until I found out what "it" was and not until my darker inner self and I had a conversation.


End file.
